APM has some tips and strategies that will take you from a good loan officer to a great one. These strategies will help you build relationships with potential clients and referral partners in today’s market.

If you’re looking for ways to stand out as a loan officer in the new year, these mortgage marketing strategies are your key to success.

Tip 1: Continue Creating a Strong Personal Brand

Our first loan officer marketing tip is to create a strong, consistent, visual, and personal brand. Your branding should reflect your personality and what’s important to you. It should also be appropriate for the clients you serve.

The next part is making your brand—well, you. The more you show up authentically and personally, the more people will relate with you. And when they feel connected to you, they’ll also connect with your services. In today’s world, a key to success in branding is how well it connects with your audience.

Here are some ways to develop your personal brand:

• Articulate what makes you different, what personalized services you offer, and what’s most important to you in your work.
• Create a brand statement or tagline demonstrating how you help your clients.
• Instead of standard headshots, use lifestyle photos that show off your personality.
• Weave stories into your visual and written content whenever possible.
• Prioritize relationships with clients by letting them see you and hear your voice. Curated photos and videos you create yourself often get better engagement.

Another key to success is having your own niche in the mortgage industry. Many loan officers are afraid to pick a niche because they don’t want to lose business by catering to a select group. 

But narrowing your brand to include a specialty will bring in new opportunities. Creating a niche gives you a competitive edge because it helps you hone your mortgage marketing and messaging into being an expert in that area. And being an expert in one area will widen your audience in all areas. 

Are you an expert VA lender? Do you know how to qualify self-employed borrowers like the back of your hand? Do you have a knack for helping a first-time homebuyer learn about building wealth in real estate? This is what makes you unique, so sell yourself as that mortgage loan officer.

Tip 2: Elevate Your Videos

You may already be using video to nurture relationships with prospective and repeat clients, but are you keeping up with current video trends? Each platform prioritizes trending video, and social media users are often more interested in consuming trending videos than static content in their news feeds.

From Instagram to Facebook to TikTok to LinkedIn, you can stand out using video in many ways. Create video content that’s short, personal, fun, and unedited. Captioning your videos is also essential, as most people view videos without sound.

Here are some ways to leverage video for prospecting:

• Start a video playlist (e.g., on YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, or Instagram) with a variety of content related to buying a home, answering mortgage questions, and giving general advice. Be sure to add to the playlist each week.
• Create a library of “moments that matter” videos you can send to prospective and past clients, as well as real estate agents.
• Introduce and leverage videos for communication, applications, reminders, education, and blog posts.

Tip 3: Enhance the Client Experience

One of the most effective ways to stand out as a mortgage loan officer is to consistently offer an outstanding customer experience at all points before, during, and after the transaction. This starts with delivering personalized services catering to each client and adjusting communication, technology, and experience accordingly.

Here are some ways you can enhance the client experience:

• Increase connections by adding virtual meetings, videos, and webinars to provide value-added consultations and check-ins for your clients and referral partners.
• Adopt an effective follow-up system to stay top of mind and provide value to your prospects. Track your close ratio, and adjust where needed.
• Ensure that your clients, and any party to the transaction, are well-informed and kept current on the mortgage application process. Your clients should never have to ask for a status update.
• Leverage technology or a system to deliver a frictionless experience and ease of transaction. But don’t forget to insert yourself into the process to ensure that the technology does not become the face of the business. 
• Add handwritten thank-you notes and/or small gifts of appreciation after every transaction and referral received.
• Add a client feedback form or survey during the process to gauge satisfaction and determine areas for improvement.
• Ask your clients to give you a review, and then respond to every client review within 24 hours, thanking them for the feedback. As a side benefit, the search engines like businesses that interact with customers.

Tip 4: Focus on Client Retention

Leveraging your best asset—your database—can help you uncover valuable opportunities. 

Ready to convert your database into dollars? Give your database management the time it deserves. First, ensure that all your contacts have accurate records. Spend time each month growing and modifying your database records to reach clients, referral partners, spheres of influence, and prospects. 

Next, sort your database into groups so you know your target audiences. Ensure that your database records are enrolled in marketing automations or some type of drip campaigns to stay connected. By sorting your database and assigning them to marketing campaigns, you can stay relevant to your audiences.

Besides marketing automations, set reminders to check in with your referral partners and clients. Implement annual mortgage reviews or periodic check-ins with past clients, and use automation for scheduling and connecting. Acknowledging birthdays is another casual way to stay connected.

Some other ways to use your database are to host a customer appreciation event once a year, send thank-you notes for received referrals, and showcase client testimonials on your social media channels and website.

You can also identify a platinum club from your database, including well-connected key influencers who can drive significant business your way. Then develop a personalized strategy for this group, consisting of specialized content, one-on-one meetings, events, and more.

Tip 5: Strengthen Referral Partners

Investing your time in nurturing long-term relationships with referral partners is the key to success. It’s always easier to find your next deal from partners who already know, like, and trust you than from a cold lead generated online.

Dedicate one day a week to connecting with real estate agents you have an existing relationship with and agents you’d like to build a new relationship with. Study their sales activities and success, and create a plan for developing that relationship.

Here are a few tips for connecting with a new referral partner:

• Attend, host, or sponsor realtor events.
• Attend realtor office meetings, open houses, home tours, or other brokerage events.
• Establish a list of potential referral partners, including builders, financial planners, attorneys, insurance agents, credit unions, and other business professionals who could be a source of new business. Find unique and meaningful ways to build trust with those on your list.
• Get involved in a local networking group that connects you with other local business professionals.
• Offer trainings or consultations around marketing strategies or technology solutions. If you’ve mastered a strategy that is producing results, share what you know. 

Download the APM Loan Officer Business Planning Guide for additional marketing strategies to help you be a more successful mortgage loan officer in 2024.

**This article has been updated from its original publish date of May 17, 2020.